My Journey with Calibrate: Judy

My Weight Loss Journey

Throughout my life, I’ve been passionate about fitness. Whether I’m dancing or playing sports, I’ve long found joy in movement. Even so, I’ve struggled with my weight—especially throughout the last year and a half.

Over the years, I’ve tried different lifestyle programs and diets to help me lose weight, including veganism, Master Cleanse, and Overeaters Anonymous. At one point, I even enlisted the help of a registered dietitian to help me drop pounds after reaching my highest weight. Though some of these approaches did help me lose weight in the short term, I soon gained a substantial amount of weight back.

In late 2019, I transitioned from working during daylight to overnight hours, which had a negative impact on my weight and overall health. Then, a few months later, the pandemic hit and my weight continued to spiral as I lost access to gyms and turned to food to cope with the emotional stressors of the new normal.

How I Found Calibrate

I first came across Calibrate on my Instagram feed and was struck by its unique and evidence-based approach. It clearly wasn’t just another “diet.” When I looked further into its program and messaging, I saw how it addressed things like metabolic health and set point—terms I was familiar with thanks to my independent research on health and weight loss but have never before seen addressed by any weight loss or lifestyle program. 

At that point, I felt that my natural set point was higher than I wanted it to be, and I was excited about using a medically-based approach to change it.

Still, I had some reservations. Regardless of the evidence behind the program, I worried about whether I would have the motivation to stick with Calibrate. Having previously tried many alternatives only to gain the weight back months or years later, I wondered if I was setting myself up for another disappointment. 

But after coming to terms with what I wanted and what I was ready to commit to, I realized that I was fed up with feeling like trash. I was tired, lethargic, and uncomfortable in my body. I wasn’t enjoying physical activity in the same way and was ready to seek support to help me make long-lasting, sustainable changes to my health. So I signed up.

My Experience So Far

I joined in September 2020 and found the onboarding process to be fairly simple and straightforward. Once I was approved for the medication, they eased me into the program slowly and thoughtfully. 

Importantly, as someone who has done a lot of research on weight loss and health, I had to put aside my preconceived notions of what this journey might entail. It was a humbling and helpful way to put myself in the beginner’s mindset—which enabled me to set a new, more effective framework for establishing better habits. Otherwise, if I had simply skimmed through the materials with the mindset that I already knew everything I needed to know about weight loss and my body, I don’t think the information would have sunk in as well. 

One learning that has been particularly helpful was the simple color-coded food system. As someone who has used calorie counting apps like MyFitnessPal on a strict basis, it’s been eye-opening to learn how to make food choices not exclusively based on calories, but on nutrient density. 

More importantly, this approach is also far more sustainable. Before Calibrate, I used to stress about vacations that would end in me feeling out of control with food. But I just returned from a trip to West Africa and Turkey, where I was able to stick to the program and continued to lose weight without being obsessive about calories or macros—proving to me that this approach really does work in the real world.

My New Day-to-Day

After nearly ten months on the program, I've lost about 18% of my body weight or 40 pounds, and I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment for having established healthier habits. Also, I’m grateful for how Calibrate has helped me to redefine my emotional relationship with food.

With previous programs and diets—including those that provided short-term weight loss—I always felt like there was an important piece of the puzzle that remained unturned. Now, I know that the final piece was my emotional health. 

Calibrate has helped me gain a greater sense of ownership of my emotions and helped me to discover new ways to regulate my mood that don’t involve food.

To anyone interested in taking ownership of their health, I highly recommend looking into Calibrate. No, it’s not a short-term fix, and yes, it will require dedication and work, but the results are immeasurable to your overall health.

Four Pillars Lightning Round

Favorite food: It's hard to say because one of my joys is trying dishes from different parts of the world. There's always a new #1! My favorite healthy dish to cook is frittatas because they are a tasty way of packing in protein and vegetables into a meal.

Best sleep tip: My best sleep tip is to keep my phone outside of my bedroom to avoid the temptation of scrolling well past bedtime. A few minutes can easily turn into a few hours. It also keeps me from hitting snooze when my alarm goes off because it forces me to get up.

Favorite type of exercise: I love HIIT for its versatility and effectiveness. It's the type of exercise that allows me to maintain some level of activity regardless of my schedule.

Emotional health tip: Breathwork. I try to incorporate it into my routine as a means of transitioning out of work mode. This was especially helpful during the lockdown period when activities out of my home were limited.

Interested in learning more about a whole-body metabolic reset? Learn more today.